..:|:Dr. John & The Lower 911:|:..

Few protest albums have the percolating groove appeal of Dr. John’s City That Care Forgot. If not for lyrics like "the road to the White House, paved with lies" the song "Promises, Promises" would be a typically chipper New Orleans second-line strut. And "You Might Be Surprised" sounds like the kind of horn-and-strings-colored blues that has always been part of the piano giant’s repertoire -- until its darker hues come through in the lines "life is a near death experience/Hell is right here on this great big Earth." Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of Dr. John’s hometown and the following years of neglect sparked these 13 angry songs. The government, insurance companies and developers, and still-lingering institutional racism take an a**-whipping with help from Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson, Terence Blanchard, Ani DiFranco, and Terrance Simien in cameo appearances. The climax is a suite -- "Dream Warrior," "Black Gold," "We Getting There" -- whose brooding imagery, funky keyboards, Latin percussion, and dramatic horns recall the great Blaxploitation movie music of the ’70s. On the other hand "My People Need a Second Line" speaks to the resilience of New Orleans culture, holding threads of hope bright as the trilling of Dr. John’s piano.

Dr. John & The Lower 911 - City That Care Forgot [2008]

1. Keep On Goin'
2. Time For A change
3. Promises, Promises
4. You Might Be Surprised
5. Dream Warrior
6. Black Gold
7. We Gettin' There
8. Stripped Away
9. Say Whut?
10. My People Need A Second Line
11. Land Grab
12. City That Care Forgot
13. Save Our Wetlands